Ex-NFL Exec Excited Over John Harbaugh-NY Giants Pairing

Super Bowl champion and long-time personnel director Vinny Cerrato sees a strong outlook.

Jan 20, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks at the press conference announcing his hiring at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

John Harbaugh's credentials made him the unanimous choice as the top free-agent head coach in this year's carousel. The New York Giants knew it and made it their top priority to sign him as soon as the Baltimore Ravens set him free.

The Giants called an all-out blitz and planned to prevent him from getting out of their building without a deal. It worked so well that Harbaugh made them his first visit and then cancelled his sitdowns with the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. 

Team co-owner John Mara closed the deal with a handshake, and it didn't hurt that two-time Super Bowl champion coach Tom Coughlin and Jack Harbaugh, John's father, strongly advised him about the benefits of taking this job.

How quickly can Harbaugh turn around a team that has struggled badly over the past two seasons and for most of the past decade? He's already studied the tape and said it's plausible to be a playoff team in his first season. 

Retired personnel executive Vinny Cerrato, who won a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, before his tenure with the then-Washington Redskins. has been Harbaugh's friend for many years and understands the point of the coach's optimism.

"Well, I think he's setting expectations," Cerrato told the Big Blue Breakdown Live podcast. "Here's the thing with Harbs: when he talks to the media, he's talking to his players. So that's what he's telling his players. ... that's what all the good coaches do.

"Bill Walsh did the same thing. Joe Gibbs did the same thing. ... So, that's why you send a lot of messages through the media to your team. He's going to sell his team on 'We're good enough' because if you have a quarterback, you have a chance. 

I think [Jaxson] Dart's got a chance. And the other thing is, where were the Ravens terrible this year? Rushing the passer. The Giants, they have three [pass rushers] better than anybody the Ravens had, so you can start there. 

“And I wouldn't be shocked that with an early pick or something, [they] get a Kyle Hamilton-type guy for their defense."

We sort through the most important aspects of what the Giants are getting and how Harbaugh will impact the team, and we also hear from Andrew Adams, who played for Harbaugh with the Ravens, in the latest edition of the Big Blue Breakdown podcast, available in the video above.

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